Aquagirl: Life of an Atlantean
by FabIsHere
Summary: Mila Shaye'lem was graced with the title of Aquagirl at the righteous age of thirteen. While she has Aquaman, and Aqualad at her side, Mila will fight for the justice her parents always told her to seek out. Mila will train, learn, and bond new friendships, but not everything is as it seems. With love coming her way, and incredulous evil plots, things are about to get complicated.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice, or any of the episodes seen in this show. The character, Mila Shaye'lem, and her parents are of my own creation and mind. Any similarities with Mila and her backstory are purely concidential. The picture for this story is not mine, but from the comic 'Batman Beyond 10'. I do not own the comic, either. **

* * *

**Poseidonis, Atlantis**

** May 13, 20: 14 EDT**

"It's so good to see you!"

I let out a bubbly laugh as Kaldur wrapped his arms around me, spinning me around in the clear water. I could feel that his muscles were more defined, and his skin tanner than when I had seen him last. He also seemed to have grown a few inches taller, which troubled me. Kaldur had easily surpassed our equal height level.

"Kaldur'ahm!" I scowled at my dear friend, "Have you been working yourself until bleeding? You've changed so much!"

"It is great to see that you have not changed, though." Kaldur grinned softly, placing me back on my spot. "You are still as pale as I remember, but shorter."

"It may be the fact that you've grown, Kaldur!" King Orin smiled, an arm around his wife, Queen Mera. "But yes, Mila does appear shorter than usual."

Kaldur, and I both took our stances to bow respectfully at our mentor. King Orin shook his head, still grinning. It was his way of letting us know that formalities were not needed today. Perhaps it was because he was in such a jolly good mood tonight, or because it was the day that I came out of healing treatments after the incident with my leg.

The four of us swam to the inside of the palace, and King Orin filled us in on the adventures that had been going on for the last three days on the surface world. Kaldur hadn't been able to accompany King Orin as Aqualad, since it was too dangerous, and I had been in the infirmary with healing progressions for my leg.

Queen Mera delivered a fleeting smile at me as King Orin boasted about the new heir to the throne, who was sitting pleasantly inside his wife's stomach. I knew how much they both loved the idea of having their child, and I was so happy for them. I'd been a close friend of Queen Mera for a time, since she was my teacher at the Conservatory of Sorcery before I became Aquagirl.

We all entered the dinning room of the coral palace, and took our seats on the table. I was wedged between Kaldur and King Orin, while Queen Mera was in front of me. Then, the food came. One of the good things of being an ally and protégé of Aquaman was that you got the occasional dinning of the finest dishes in Atlantis.

"So, Mila—" Queen Mera spoke up, "Are you in condition of returning to your official duties as Aquagirl, now?"

King Orin and Kaldur became very silent at my sides, eagerly waiting for my response. Kaldur had sent messages to me ever since the incident, which I appreciated. King Orin had often visited my home, and comforted my father of my temporal inability, which I was grateful for. I could tell both males missed my being there for them on missions.

"Well," I chuckled nervously, "The infirmary says that I am completely healed. They recommended a few days of rest, to leave no loose ends. But, they never told me _how many _days I needed to rest, so the next mission that comes up, I'm going to be there."

"This is great news!" King Orin exclaimed with a gleeful expression, "These past two months have been terribly dull without you."

Kaldur raised an eyebrow, "My apologies, my king, but am I really that much of a bore to you?"

I smiled, "Do not listen to him, Kaldur. You are a _very _entertaining Atlantean, I'll assure you of that."

King Orin and I shared a knowing look, and he winked at me. It wasn't in the disgustingly uncomfortable way, but it was the wink of a father that he shared with his daughter. Queen Mera burst out laughing, and King Orin, and I soon followed. Kaldur was left in sore silence, but I knew that with a few rounds of sorcery practice, he would be left joyful.

I wonder how much the surface world, and its people, has changed over the last two months I was gone. The human race moved quickly, which was probably why I was looking forward to getting back on dry land.

Aquagirl was back, and more ready than ever.


	2. Engineering An Army

**Pearl Harbor**

** July 4, 06: 02 HST**

Killer Frost was fast. I could admit that much, but nothing more.

Aquaman and I jumped out of the Captain's Headquarters on the large metal ship. I flipped twice, landing on the deck, but almost slipping. I was not used to the ice, but that didn't mean I couldn't recover fast enough to blast Killer Frost's smirk out of her face.

Aquaman got a freeze ray directed at him, and was instantly covered by the transparent ice. I ran past him, sending him a mocking salute and grin his way. My sniggering was cut short, though. Soon, Aquaman was hurrying beside both Aqualad and I.

"Don't tell me you two are not excited," Aquaman spoke, slightly incredulous.

"Right now, My King," Aqualad answered, "I believe we're more focused on the matter at hand."

I avoided a freeze ray from Killer Frost, and zigzagged whenever more ice came my way. Aqualad jumped up, and used his sorcery to make the water-bearers in his hand become the solid form of two hammers. He let out a loud grunt as his hammers came in contact with Killer Frost, but still, she seemed to be intact.

I took this as my cue to use my own powers against the villain in front of the three of us. I rose up my arms, and felt a tugging motion deep within me. I made the water beneath the frozen boats rise up, and it covered Killer Frost in a gigantic ball of liquid.

Killer Frost started panicking, all the water surrounding her was not going to disperse anytime soon, and she knew it. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and turned back to see Aquaman, a warning frown on his face. I nodded, and made an air bubble rise up from the ball of water. Soon enough, Killer Frost could breathe again.

I let the ball of water disintegrate, and both Aqualad and I delivered the final punches. Kaldur used one of his water-bearers to hit Killer Frost in the jaw, and I managed to blast a forceful jet of water onto her stomach. She slackened, and with a pained groan, fell unconscious on the boat's metal floor.

"There's only room for one girl in this ship," I gave Aqualad and Aquaman separate smiles, "And that's not you."

* * *

**Washington D.C**

** July 4, 14: 00 EDT**

"Today's the day," I bumped my shoulder with Speedy, while also giving Robin a warm greeting smile. "On a rate of one to ten, how excited are you?"

"Eleven!" The Boy Wonder took no time to answer, but Archer Jr. seemed to be having a more difficult time elaborating his feelings into words, or numbers.

"I would say an eight." Speedy finally answered, a slight frown covering his features. "And since when do you use Aqualad's uniform pants?"

I looked down, and sighed in uncomforting nervousness. The incident with my leg was the reason for my new using of an almost identical copy of Aqualad's uniform trousers, but I didn't like talking about it. The incident was a hard topic, since it meant my first defeat.

"The scar on my leg is a bit ugly," I tried grinning reassuringly, "Wouldn't want you guys to run off, scared."

We all stood in silence after that, just basking in the sight of the Hall of Justice. I had only seen it a few times, about two or three, and it was from extreme far off distances. Now, having the Hall so close to me, and knowing that it was waiting for me to become part of it's secluded group endeared me to no end.

This is what all the young protégés, including me, had been working so hard for. We all had wanted a chance to become part of the Justice League, and this was finally our moment of grandeur. When Aqualad and I became partners of Aquaman, we both knew the dangers, but also the rewards. I was more than excited; I was ecstatic, for this new change in my life.

I felt my hair swoosh, and suddenly, it was all over my face. I rolled my eyes, aware of who had caused havoc amongst my hair. I tucked the stray stands behind my ear, and turned around to the cheeky culprits. Flash and Kid Flash were finally here, and late. Even with the super-speed, both men would be tardy for everything.

We all walked alongside each other, down the hill to the Hall of Justice. I could feel nerves starting to eat me up, and my insecurities resurfaced. What if I wasn't going to be good enough to join the Justice League? What if they realized that they didn't really want me with them?

Then, a soothing voice washed over me. My friend back in Atlantis, Garth, had comforted me before my going out on to the surface world earlier this morning. He told me a lot of things, mostly compliments or boosting pep talk. I tried to concentrate on his words, and attempted to grasp all of his compliments to serve me.

Positive thoughts, I repeated in my mind, positive thoughts. Images ran through my head, a lot of them of my home in Poseidonis. I saw both of my parents smiling with pride, Tula and Garth placing bets to see whether Kaldur or I would kick the most butt in our missions, and King Orin with Queen Mera. Suddenly, my heart wasn't hammering as hard in my chest as before.

I then focused on my outside surroundings. We were walking down a red carpet, much like the ones I saw on television whenever I got the chance. There were a few clicks and flashes, all coming from cameras held by curious bystanders. Everyone was whispering amongst themselves, but I mainly tried to avoid them.

_"Is that Aquagirl? I haven't seen her in over three months!" _

_ "Yeah, it's her! What do you think happened?" _

_ "What's up with her new uniform?"_

I looked down at my feet, which were unusually pale for being bare, and in the sun. The uniform was nothing new, the same black turtleneck as always. The only difference was the aquamarine pants, but I'm surprised even the bystanders noticed the difference. There were things that they were better off not knowing, too. What happened to me three months back was a good example.

"Have all five sidekicks ever been in the same place," Kid Flash grinned, "At the same time?"

"_Don't _call us sidekicks," Speedy grunted, "Not after today."

"Someone didn't wake up quite right." I flicked Speedy for being rude, "Is it because you're overwhelmed by all the attention?"

"Speedy's overwhelmed," Robin sighed, "Freeze was underwhelmed. Why isn't anyone ever just whelmed?"

We were then inside of the Hall of Justice, and looking down on us were the statues of the Justice League. Aqualad and I both walked up to the statue of Aquaman, and we smiled at each other. Our mentor was a great man, both in war and in peaceful times, it only seemed fitting that he had a great sculpture of himself somewhere in the surface world.

A door opened to reveal Martian Manhunter and Red Tornado. They're two of the few non-humans in the Justice League, and maybe some of the members that I respected the most. Since I wasn't technically human, I knew how the other non-terrestrial species felt about not knowing the landmarks of the surface world, and it's traditions.

"Robin, Speedy, Aqualad, Aquagirl, Kid Flash." Martian Manhunter regarded each and every one of us, "Welcome."

Robin, Kid Flash, and I grinned excitedly. The three of us gave each other high-fives to try and convey our happiness, and I even gave both boys an extremely rough side-hug. Robin and Kid Flash groaned, and I smiled sheepishly at them.

Martian Manhunter continued, "You now have unlimited access to the gym, our fully-stocked gallery, and of course, our library."

"Make yourselves at home!" Flash raised his hands up, grinning at all of us in his own version of excitement.

Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad sat down on the three chairs nearest to us. Speedy and I remained standing, given there were no more seats for us. I reached behind me, and my hand clasped onto one of the long platinum strands of hair. I twirled it a bit, trying to release some of the giddiness out of me to seem more serious, and mature.

"_That's it?"_ I turned slightly to see Speedy crossing his arms. "You promised us a real look inside, not a glorified backstage pass!"

Aquaman raised an eyebrow, "It's a first step. You've been granted access few others get."

"Oh really?" Speedy gestured up to the window that allowed tourists to see the current quarrel taking place. "Who cares which side of the glass we're on?"

I shared a look with my friends, and we all silently groaned. Speedy had reset his 'better-than-average' mood back to 'jerkiness-is-my-way-to-roll' default emotions. This was starting to become routine, Speedy glaring and bad-mouthing the Justice League, especially Green Arrow, for treating him like a 'child'.

"Roy, you just need to be patient." Green Arrow reasoned with the angered teenager.

"What I need is _respect_!" Roy barked, and turned to the protégés. "They're treating us like kids, worse, like sidekicks! We deserve better than this."

No one said anything for a while, so I answered. "Green Arrow is right. We were not meant to become part of the Justice League yet, but touring their headquarters _was_ in the agenda."

"Except the Hall isn't their headquarters!" Speedy glared at me, his voice rising with determination. "I bet they never told you it's just a false front for tourists, and a pit-stop for catching zeta-beamed teleporter tubes to the real thing! An orbiting satellite called the Watchtower."

I wasn't sure if this was all a big nightmare, or if I was in a daze and didn't hear him well. How could Speedy know about the Watchtower, and not the rest of us? Kid Flash, Robin, Aqualad, and I laid in dead silence. I blinked hard, and then focused my eyes on Aquaman. Why hadn't he told me anything? I thought he trusted me.

"You are not helping your cause here, son." Aquaman walked forward, his eyes quickly wandering to Aqualad and I. "Stand down, or—"

"—Or what? You'll send me to my room? And I'm not your son," Speedy turned from Aquaman to Green Arrow. "I'm not even his! I thought I was his partner, but not anymore."

I came up to Kaldur, and squeezed his shoulder tightly. Speedy was done; he was leaving us, just like that. I felt Kaldur's hand grab mine forcefully, as well. Roy was both of our best friends, jerk or not, with the three of us being the oldest out of the few protégés the superheroes had.

"Guess they're right about you four," Speedy stomped past us, and the four of us stood up. "You're not ready."

It felt like someone had pressed a sharp needle in my chest, and I cleared my throat, trying to wash away the hurt of that comment. It was one thing to see my best friend leave, but another to have him insult me. It felt like Roy had stabbed me in the back, and even though I was saddened over his absence, I was guiltily glad he wouldn't be back.

An alarm echoed through the library, making me shiver. I barely ever felt cold, but in that room, at that moment, my Atlantean skin seemed to have no effect on the cool atmosphere. Superman's face appeared on the screen, his features full of worry and determination.

"Superman to Justice League: There's been an explosion at Project Cadmus. It's on fire."

"I've had my suspicions about Project Cadmus," Batman spoke to the screen, "This may present the perfect opportunity to—"

Then, a smaller box appeared on the screen. Zatara was there, speaking hurriedly, "Zatara to Justice League: The sorcerer Wotan is using the Amulet of Aton to blot up the sun! Requesting full League response."

I let out a low whistle, which surprisingly startled Kid Flash. He jumped a bit, his green eyes wide in shock. I raised an eyebrow at him, but he only shook it off. It was probably the stinging thoughts that made him lose focus and jump in surprise. I, myself, was still mad over my own King and mentor hiding the Watchtower from me.

"Superman?" Batman sighed, the opportunity to satisfy his curiosity almost entirely gone.

"It's a small fire," Clark shrugged, "Local authorities have it under control."

"Then Cadmus can wait." Batman finally decided. "Leaguers rendezvous to Zatara's coordinates, Batman out. You four stay put."

"What?" Robin exclaimed rapidly, "_Why?" _

Aquaman and Flash came up to stand on either sides of Batman, looking extremely strict and serious. I glared at my mentor, but he only raised an eyebrow back at me. I sighed; it wasn't really his fault or choice that he didn't tell me. King Orion's eyes gave him away, and he was sorry for not letting Kaldur and I know.

"This is a League mission," Aquaman declared, hands on his hips.

"You're not trained—" Flash got cut off by a very angry Wally.

"Since when?" Kid Flash shouted indignantly.

"I meant you're not trained to work as part of this team," Flash's hidden eyebrows furrowed.

"There will be other missions," Aquaman looked pointedly at Aqualad and I, "When you're ready.

Batman decided to finish off, "But for now, stay put."

We all watched the retreating backs of our mentors. I was secretly loathing them, and drilling a hole into Batman's muscular back. The four of us were ready! We could do as much good of a job as Batman, Aquaman, or Flash would do by themselves. They had trained us, after all.

"When we're ready?" Kid Flash huffed, "How are we ever supposed to be ready when they treat us like…like sidekicks!"

"Our mentor, our king," Aqualad looked at me, obviously feeling dejected. "I thought he trusted us."

"Trust?" I laughed bitterly, "What trust? They couldn't even tell us about the basic fact that their headquarters were in outer space!"

I suddenly wanted to be in Atlantis once again. I yearned for the familiar feeling of water as it rose up and down in swift currents. I wanted to be back at home, with my parents, and eating the delicious calamari my mother would make. Most of all, I wanted to be back with Tula and Garth. I would be able to spill my feelings to them, and they would understand.

"What else aren't they telling us?" Aqualad looked down in shame.

"I have a better question," Robin sighed heavily, "Why didn't we leave with Speedy?"

That left us all in deep thought. I scrunched up my face, not once in this whole argument did I have the idea of taking Speedy's side. I just didn't know why, though. It could have been the fact that I felt obligated to remain loyal to King Orin, and Aqualad. Maybe it was that the rest of the guys weren't moving from their seats. I just wasn't sure.

"What is—" Aqualad paused, as if unsure. "—Project Cadmus?"

A half-hearted smirk formed on my face, and I saw Kid Flash's expression forming to a copy of my own. I muttered a silent yes, as Kaldur was never one to be vocally curious for things that our mentor said wasn't our business. I stretched my hand behind my thigh, and Kid Flash gave me a quick high-five.

"Don't know," Robin sniggered, "But I can find out!"

"Go, Rob!" I laughed, "Whoop!"

We all walked over to the computer, and watched in stilled amazement as Robin typed in a few codes. He was overriding the system, and his hands were working extremely fast. Robin could be a simple thirteen year old, but he was a miniature genius.

_"Access: Denied" _The computer announced. I felt a small surge of hope scramble away, but it was restored quickly enough.

"Ha," Robin grinned, "Wanna bet?"

The Boy Hacker started typing away, yet again. A file popped up, and the secrets of the Justice League were soon revealed. "Whoa, how are you doing that?" Kid Flash gapped.

"Same system as the Batcave!" Robin opened up a folder, "All right, Project Cadmus…Genetics lab here in D.C. That's all there is."

I smirked, "Oh, please! Batman surely would have a better reason to be suspicious over a simple lab! I say we investigate."

"Solve their case before they do," Aqualad's eyes widened in clear understanding. He grinned, "It _would_ be Poetic Justice."

"Hey!" Robin cackled, "They're all about justice!"

Suddenly, Aqualad sighed. "But they said stay put."

I rolled my eyes, and grabbed Kaldur by the shoulder. I met his pale blue eyes with my own aquamarine. I started shaking him, emitting a yelp of shock from his mouth. Kid Flash and Robin started laughing at the sudden surprise that I delivered. "Kaldur, get it together! We're going investigating whether you think it's right or not!"

"Hey, if it helps" Robin shrugged, "They said to stay put for the blotting out the sun mission, but nothing 'bout Cadmus!"

"Wait, are you two going?" Kid Flash grinned, "Because if you guys are going, then I'm going!"

The three of us turned to the oldest member of our little protégé group. I gave Kaldur a pointed glare, telling him to give into his inner desire. How many times were we going to be privileged enough to find a case this good? This was a perfect opportunity to investigate Cadmus, and finally demonstrate our skills to our mentors.

"Just like that?" Aqualad concluded, "We're a team on a mission?"

"We didn't come for a play date." Robin nodded.

* * *

There are many things in live that can surprise, or even shock you. When I got the chance to see King Orin get a knife to his arm, I was shocked. When Kaldur got knocked unconscious for the first time, I was shocked. When my parent's organized a party for Kaldur and I for becoming Aquaman's protégés, I was surprised. Nothing shocked or surprised me more, though, than the Cadmus building still being on fire. Now, I wasn't an expert of flames, but I was sure they weren't supposed to last almost an hour.

I surveyed the scene before me. The Cadmus building was in flames, and two male scientists were pleading for help in the inside. Suddenly, and explosion went off, creating a force so great that it blew the scientists out of the building. Kid Flash ran forward, using his super speed to heroically save the men.

The only thing that backfired in Wally's nonexistent plan was that he almost fell to his death. Now, he dangled from the building with an enraged yet helpless expression.

I sighed, "I'll go get him."

I started hurrying forward, and stopped just when I was in front of the fire truck. I needed to get to the second floor, which was where Kid Flash was holding himself. I was seriously considering letting him dangle up there for being so idiotic, but if he fell, I wouldn't forgive myself.

"I'll borrow that," I grinned at a fireman as I used the water of the hose to create a liquid tornado.

I propelled my body upwards, and made the water stop flowing into my mini tornado when I was just below Kid Flash's body. I shouted that it was safe for him to let go, and Wally let himself fall onto my solid tornado. He let out a feminine shriek, making me chuckle at his silliness.

I let the water flow start again, making the tornado grow in size. I could hear a very familiar echoing cackle as Kid Flash and I finally made it to the second floor of the Cadmus building. Soon, Robin was next to both of us. He wasted to time in going inside the building to hack through the computer's systems.

Kid Flash and I opened up drawers, and cabinets. We were trying to find any prove that Cadmus had a crime record that could interest Batman. There was nothing so far. I found a pair of flashlights, one red and the other black. There was a piece of rope, which proved to be the most mysterious finding yet.

Aqualad came into the building, and scowled at all of us. "I appreciate the help."

"You handled it!" Robin smirked, "Besides, we're here to investigate. Poetic Justice, remember?"

I shared a look with Kaldur, telling him that I was sorry. He just shook his head, and shrugged his shoulder as if to say, what can you do about it? I watched as Kaldur walked out, a perplexed expression in his face. I ran up to catch up to him, and got a glimpse of a horned figure in the elevator.

"There was something—" Kaldur started.

"Or _someone _in the elevator!" I exclaimed.

I felt a swish stop next to me, and Kid Flash's eyes narrowed in realization. "Elevators should be locked down!"

That got all of our attentions, even Robin who was so keen into hacking the computer systems. We all ran outside, determined to find out what, or who had been inside that elevator. It certainly didn't look human, and the fact that Wally pointed out that the elevators made it the even more curious.

"This is wrong," Robin pointed out, and opened his portable arm computer.

"No kidding, Boy Wonder." I rolled my eyes, "Next I'll hear you telling me how the sea is blue, or the stars millions of miles away!"

"Babe," Kid Flash smirked, "Have I ever told you how much I love it when you start using metaphors? You come up with some pretty neat—"

"This is a high-speed express elevator," Robin cut Wally's compliment off. "It doesn't belong in a two story building!"

"Neither does what we saw," Aqualad looked at me, urging me to come over to him. "The elevator's doors need to be opened apart."

I nodded, and together, we used our enhanced strength to open the steel doors. I took on the right side, while Aqualad did the left side. Robin walked forward, nodding in gratefulness at us. He prepped up his grappling hook, and quickly shot down without a second glance at us.

Kid Flash and I both rolled our eyes, but followed Robin, nonetheless. Aqualad went down first, then me, and finally, Kid Flash. We slid down so fast, that I could feel the ends of my hair tickling Wally's red boots. Suddenly, Robin called out to us. "I'm at the end of my rope!"

We all skidded to a stop in sublevel twenty-six. Robin swung off his line, and the rest of us followed his lead. He started hacking the security system, and when he gave the signal, I stood up before Aqualad even flinched. I opened the door forcefully, growling in the process. I really just wanted to get to the bottom of this all.

When the elevator's floor doors were finally opened, I ran out of the square compartment, only to halt to a stop. The doors had revealed a hallway. All of it tinted red. It was a weird color, one that I did not welcome. It was the complete opposite of Atlantis, in which areas it all blues and greens. "I don't like this place…"

"Neither do I," Aqualad frowned, nodding in agreement.

Kid Flash sped away from us, not giving us a word of warning. Aqualad shouted for him to come back, but Wally never listened. He either didn't want to listen the older boy, or he was too busy with his adrenaline to hear anything. Both ways could have been very possible explanations, so I didn't bother coming up with any more options.

Robin, Aqualad, and I all ran to where our friend had gone off. We were quickly cut short of our sprint, though. In the end of the hallway, the part where it connected to other directions, there were mammoths walking. Kid Flash was in the middle of the whole commotion, and had almost gotten trampled on.

"Kid, get out of there!" I screamed instructions at the redhead, "Go to your right! Faster! What are you a speedster for?"

When Wally was with us I held onto his shaking shoulder, and started searching for signs of pain or injury. He was fine, from the looks of it. There was a minor bruising on his shoulder, the one where he fell on. I let out a breath of relief. Wally was going to be fine.

"Mom," Kid Flash whined, "Stop! You're embarrassing me in front of my friends!"

I laughed, and let us stand apart a few inches or so. I took the new free time to busy myself with the mammoths walking in front of us. They had deep and brown scars everywhere around their body, and smaller creatures were perched on the top of their shoulders.

"No, nothing odd going on here," Aqualad raised an eyebrow in bafflement.

"We, uh, should keep moving?" Robin declared, but it came out more like a question.

We were all so very confused, and shocked at the mammoths with the little creatures with them. Never had I, or my friends, seen that level of horribleness. Elephants couldn't even compare to the height of those monsters. It was strange, and I believed that we were getting ourselves tangled with something bigger than necessary.

We all started walking down the opposite hallway, not wanting to follow the mammoths. I shook my head, both mentally and physically. This was a new of those bizarre mysteries, and it was going to be entertaining to solve. I couldn't wait to tell Tula and Garth about this all when I got back to Poseidonis.

We reached a metal door. This one had a metal lock, and it wasn't a normal one, it was a lock that you would see in the most secure banks or enterprises in the world. Robin was able to successfully hack through it, which could only increase our admiration for him. He's still a thirteen-year-old kid, and breaking into things at a rate even Speedy couldn't have done. I don't know what Batman teaches Robin, but it must be pretty efficient.

"Okay, I'm officially whelmed," Robin's eyes widened behind the domino mask.

"You can say that again…" I muttered, entranced with everything inside the new room.

"I'm officially—"

"Rob, you know what I meant!"

Robin gave me a lopsided grin before resting his eyes on everything that was in front of us. There were thousands of rows, all stacked on top of each other, filling the entire room. The rows had large test tubes on them, and inside the tubes was one of those horrible creatures that Cadmus seemed so keen on creating. They looked like navy blue shells, and pretty solid, too.

There was a giant ray that seemed to be working as a satellite, in the end of the room. It was shooting electricity from the top, which was transmitted to the insides of the test tubes. My eyes widened in realization, the electricity was shooting inside the creatures in the tubes to create their own energy source!

"This is how they hide all this from the world. The real Cadmus isn't on the grid!" Kid Flash gestured to the satellite at the end of the room, "It generates it's own power with these…things. It must be what they're bread for!"

"Aqualad, remember the teachings back in the Conservatory of Sorcery?" I turned to the rest of my teammates when Kaldur nodded. "There was a legend, about a new race called Cadmus that was born by sowing dragon teeth into the earth!"

"Even the name was a clue," Aqualad nodded.

"Well, this Cadmus creates new life, too!" Robin walked over to a nearby computer, "Let's find out why."

I jogged over to where Robin was standing, and looked over his shoulder. Six little Robin heads appeared on the computer, and when they flashed green, the system was unlocked to us. I decided to answer one of our questions first, "They call them genomorphs."

"Whoa, look at the stats on these things!" Robin opened up a new page on his portable computer, "Super strength, telepathy, and razor claws? These are living weapons!"

I turned my head back to look at Aqualad worriedly. Cadmus was making a living army, and for god knows what! Kaldur, and I shared a pointed look. We had to contact Aquaman, better yet, the whole Justice League! This was starting to become a mission that four young protégés could easily ruin with one false move.

"They're engineering an army," Kid Flash noted, "But for who?"

"Wait, there's something else—" Robin hushed us all, "Project Kr. Ugh, the file is triple encrypted! I can't—"

"Don't move!"

I felt goose bumps run down the length of my arm. My breath hitched, and I tried to turn my head as slowly as possible. This was it. The four of us had been caught breaking and entering into a secure facility that was probably out to kill the world. This was definitely not a good position to be in, but seeing who was in front of us, maybe it wasn't that bad.

"Wait!" Guardian stopped running. He was a well-known hero, but the fact that he had genomorphs with him made him seem suspicious. "Robin, Aquagirl, Aqualad, Kid Flash?"

"At least he got your name right," Robin snickered, and turned back to his computer.

"I know you," Aqualad stated, "Guardian. A hero."

"I do my best," Guardian shrugged modestly.

Kid Flash wasn't buying this heroic act any more than I was, "Then what are you doing here?"

"I think that's my question to ask," Guardian frowned. "I'm chief of security. You're trespassing, but we can call the Justice League and figure this out."

I huffed, "The League isn't going to approve of you breeding weapons! They'd incarcerate you on sight!"

"Weapons?" Guardian asked, "What are you—"

Guardian had a genomorph on his shoulder, and at that pause, it's horns started to glow. Guardian held his head, seemingly having a headache. I raised an eyebrow, this wasn't right. The genomorph seemed to be doing something, and it definitely wasn't good. Then, Robin's words came to me. The genomorphs were telepathic!

It was too late to be realizing this because as soon as I had the thought, Guardian ordered his genomorphs to attack us. I silently cursed at myself for being so naïve. I should have figured this out sooner! Aquaman would have surely known that the genomorphs were messing with Guardian's mind as soon as he saw the act happening, and would have taken it down before havoc started.

I tried clearing my head; this was no time for beating myself up. There were genomorphs coming our way, and they were not going to have mercy on us. Robin threw down a smoke pellet, and used his grappling hook to levitate himself off the ground before the fighting started. He was leaving us to battle by ourselves!

I had no time to react when a genomorph came to me, and slammed my body straight into a metal table. I groaned in pain, my left shoulder having been the one place where I so cleverly landed on. I used my right arm to push myself off the ground, and took the water out of the pouch on my back.

A genomorph was running toward me, so I took it as the chance to use the little water I had to create a whip. When the genomorph was close enough to me, I slashed at it, and then made me whip become a simple jet of water. I used all of my strength to make the jet of water as forceful as possible, and then, the genomorph didn't stand up anymore.

I felt a punch hit me on the back, and my body surged forward to be met by the hard floor. I growled, one that was deep inside me. If these stupid creatures wanted to play rough, then fine. I stood up from the ground, and snapped at the two genomorphs coming my way.

The creatures jumped forward, almost tackling me, but I did a split that made me drop down to the floor. The two genomorphs hit each other, but were still standing with some strength left. I flipped up, and was about to hit both genomorphs in the jaw for a good measure, but someone picked me up mid-air.

"Kid Flash, let me down!"

"Sorry, Aquagirl," Kid Flash didn't sound apologetic at all, "But we're outnumbered and, knowing you, you probably would have gotten killed first before going down without a fight. And how are we gonna explain that to Aquaman?"

Kid Flash dashed out of the room, and into the direction that Robin had gone off to. I felt my ears popping, and my eyes watering, as Kid Flash broke the speed of sound with me in his arms. I definitely did not want to do that again.

I saw Aqualad running behind Kid Flash's back, with a whole lot of genomorphs coming his way. I felt a surge of anger, and was about to run off to hit them, if it wasn't for the fact that I would be endangering the lifes of my friends.

"Way to be a team player, Rob!" Kid Flash snapped.

Robin only gave him a portion of his attention, "Weren't you right behind me?"

"Robin," I smacked the said boy on the head, "You are as terrible as Aqualad when he does sorcery and battle practice for two hours straight."

"Thank you," Robin rolled his eyes. "For your information, I don't think Aqualad can hack an express elevator after tiring out that much. In which areas, I can!"

A mad cackle came from the younger boy, and the elevator doors opened. The three of us hurried in, and just before the doors closed, Aqualad came barreling in. The genomorphs had been hot on his tail, only barely missing him. I sighed, and started fingering my gills hidden by the black material of my turtleneck.

I looked up, and the numbers on top of the elevator doors were increasing. It started with forty-three, then forty-four, and forty-five. We were descending further into the building. Why were we going down? We had to get out of Cadmus!

"We're going down?" Aqualad asked, incredulous.

"Dude, out is up!" Kid Flash pointed at the ceiling, giving Robin a glare.

"Excuse me?" Robin snapped back, "Project Kr is down, on sublevel fifty-two."

I huffed, "What is wrong with you, Robin? Can't you see? This is getting _way _out of control, and I don't want to have to be the one to carry a dead body of a _friend _out to the Justice League!"

"…We should contact the League," Aqualad nodded.

Suddenly, the elevator doors opened up in the formerly said sublevel. This was beginning to become a mission bigger than all of us combined. I didn't doubt our skills and preparations, but I was scared. I let out a shaking breath, and the four of us stepped out of the cabin. What else was there to do?

The hallway that we stepped into was even worse than the one on sublevel twenty-six. The walls were tinted pink, and looked horridly soft, as if you could touch it and your finger would be lost in the goo. The floor was not better, either. There seemed to be glowing eggs all around us, with distinct shapes in them. It was probably genomorphs.

"Which way?" Aqualad asked solemnly, sending us all a glare.

"Yeah!" Robin didn't notice Kaldur's soreness, "Bizarre looking hallway one, or bizarre looking hallway two?"

Suddenly, a new voice joined us. "Halt!"

I turned to the source of the shout; only to be met to what I could only assume was an adult genomorph. He sure seemed to possess the same attributes of a genomorph, but he seemed more developed. His horns were larger, and his frame more human. He wore the clothes of a doctor.

The genomorph's horns started to glow, and three barrels were sent our way. We all avoided the fire as the barrels exploded as soon as they made contact with the pink walls. Robin threw a batarang at the genomorph as a distraction, and the four of us ran away.

I started panting, the adrenaline from the earlier fight with the genomorphs wearing off. At the end of bizarre looking hallway one, a woman in a scientist lab coat came out, the door to Project Kr opening up. As Kid Flash sped up, he tripped her, but still managed to get a metal barrel to hold open the door for us.

The four of us came scrambling into Project Kr, and I kicked the metal barrel out, so the door would close shut behind us. Guardian was making his way toward us, and fast. He had his small army of genomorphs with him, and I did not want to get acquaintance with the rest of his team.

"I disabled the door," Robin announced, "We're safe."

Aqualad only shook his head, "We're trapped."

"It beats having to fight the genomorphs, _and _Guardian." I shrugged.

"Uh, guys?" Kid Flash spoke up, "You'll wanna see this."

Wally pressed a button, and a pod in the middle of the room lit up. There was a boy inside of the compartment, and he seemed to be asleep. He wore a white suit that covered him from neck to toe, and bore the red symbol of Superman. I narrowed my eyes, what was this?

"Kr…" I mumbled in thought, "Wait a second! That's the atomic symbol for Krypton."

"Clone?" Kid Flash asked me. I could only shake my head in doubt at his question.

"Robin. Hack." Aqualad demanded.

Robin connected his arm computer to the software in the room, and started to hack. I walked forward, and observed the boy in the pod. He looked an awful lot like Clark, which troubled me. How was Cadmus able to make such a perfect copy, even if it was smaller?

"Weapon designation: Superboy," Robin started. "A clone force grown in _sixteen weeks!_ From DNA acquired from Superman."

I quirked an eyebrow, "They're just trying to sound better than they really are. The DNA sample was obviously stolen from Superman." Everyone seemed to agree with my theory.

"Solar suit allows him to absorb yellow sun radiation twenty-four seven," Robin continued.

"And these…creatures?" Aqualad pointed at the sleeping beings perched on top of Superboy's head.

"Genomorphs gnomes." Robin stated, "Telepathic. Force feeding him an education."

"And we can guess what else…" Kid Flash trailed off, leaving us in thought. "They're making a slave of, well, Superman's son."

I shuddered at the idea. Clark, being the kind-hearted person he was, would probably not mind having Superboy for a son. The fact that Cadmus could be so cruel, though, just made it all the worse. It didn't really matter if they created Superman's son, but they were making a slave out of him. That was something unforgivable.

"Contact the League." I muttered darkly, "Best option we have."

Aqualad pressed the 'A' in his black belt, and I did the same on my golden one. I received static, and so did Kaldur. The signals were off, and there was no chance in contacting said team. We were alone on this one.

"No signal." Robin pointed out the obvious.

"We're in to deep," Kid Flash ran his fingers through his hair, "Literally."

Suddenly, the horns of the genomorphs inside Superboy's pod started to glow. I panicked, and started biting my nails. This was wrong, oh so wrong. If we were lucky enough to get in here, we might get out. One thing I learned about entering a villain's lair, though, was that breaking out was the hardest part.

I looked up at Superboy. He was a slave of his own creators, and that was wrong. I didn't care if getting out of the building was going to be tough; we all knew we couldn't leave Superboy alone like this. He might help us. He might be useful. It was torture, what Cadmus was doing to him.

"Guys," I paused, sighing in anxiousness. "We can't leave Superboy. Not after finding all of this."

Aqualad took this in consideration before responding, "Set him free. Do it."

Robin took this as his cue to hack, and opened up his arm computer. He typed in a few codes, some words and numbers that meant nothing to me, but everything to him. Suddenly, the pod burst open, letting steam roll out of its insides.

The four of us stood in silence, waiting to see what happened next. Superboy's hands stretched, and then folded themselves into tight fists. I narrowed my eyes, and my senses sparked up, ready for what was sure to be coming on next. Superboy's eyes opened, revealing a bright blue shade. Then, he launched himself onto Aqualad.

Superboy started punching Aqualad with so much vigor, I was afraid he would break my friend's jaw. I surged forward, Kid Flash and Robin at my sides. Kid Flash grabbed Superboy's right arm, Robin his left, and I took hold of his shoulders. I felt the immense strength, the same one that Superman possessed. I instantly knew it. We were in some serious trouble.

"Hang on, Super—" Kid Flash grunted.

"We're…on…your side!" Robin exclaimed before Superboy freed himself from Kid Flash's grasp and punched him into the air. I gasped as Wally flew, a few moments of airborne, and then crashed onto a glass pod. He was out, unconscious, and that was the last thing that I wanted when we came here.

I turned my attention back to Superboy, and used both of my legs to kick his back. He was invulnerable, though, so the difference wasn't much. Robin took out a gas pellet, and shoved it down Superboy's throat. The two of us scrambled off the clone, and watched as Superboy gagged in response to the sickly green gas.

Aqualad used the small distraction to kick Superboy on the chest, sending him flying back to hit the metal computer in the middle of the room. I was about to run over to the clone, ready to go out for blood, when Robin beat me to it. The Boy Wonder took out a long taser, and aimed it at Superboy's chest. The clone simply took hold of the taser, and pulled so he could throw Robin down on the floor.

Superboy pressed his foot down on Robin's chest, surely almost breaking his ribcage. I got up from my spot next to Aqualad, and ran over to the younger boy. I took out water from my pouch, and launched it all at Superboy, using all my enhanced strength to feed off my maddened emotions. Superboy was sent flying back to his opened pod, and fell down on the floor, unmoving.

I looked down at Robin, and knelt so I could hold him by the shoulders, "Come on, Boy Wonder. You're going to be fine…" Robin simply groaned in pain, and fell unconscious in my arms. I felt more anger built up inside me. This is what I feared, that everyone would get hurt in this mission. Ugh, stupid me with the stupid ideas of setting Superboy free!

"We are trying to help!" I heard Aqualad shout from behind me, and realized that there were more important matters at hand. I needed to help Kaldur, and now.

Superboy launched a punch at Aqualad, which knocked him down on the corner of the room. I ran forward, and got my water whip ready. I struck out at Superboy, and made the water have electric charges run down to the clone's body. Superboy growled in pain, but this only seemed to fuel his anger. It reminded me of when people hurt my family, and I got more maddened by every hit.

Suddenly, using my small thought of distracting, Superboy jumped forward. He hit me in the chest, successfully making me fall down on the floor with a pained grunt. The last thing I saw before I blacked out was Superboy, and his horribly determined face.

_Kaldur, I'm sorry I didn't help you…_


End file.
